Bloomington Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bloomington, Illinois 61701
Thursday, June 11, 1992 13:42 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE 69 YEAR OLD PILOT RETURNED TO THE HOME BASE AIRPORT AFTER A BUSINESS TRIP AND ENTERED A RIGHT HAND TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR RUNWAY 3. WITNESSES DESCRIBED A VERY TIGHT, CLOSE-IN TRAFFIC PATTERN, AND STATED THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE WAS LOWER THAN THE NORMAL TRAFFIC PATTERN (ESTIMATED 400 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND). THEY STATED THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE WAS '...TILTING SLIGHTLY UPWARDS...' AND THEN THE AIRPLANE ENTERED A STEEP ('KNIFE-EDGE') LEFT TURN AND DESCENDED TO THE GROUND. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED TERRAIN IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA SOUTHWEST OF THE AIRPORT. POST-ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PRE-IMPACT MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION OR PILOT INCAPACITATION.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN AIRCRAFT CONTROL DURING THE TURN FROM BASE LEG TO FINAL APPROACH.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/11/1992
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1342
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City BLOOMINGTON
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 61701
Event Date Year 1992
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport BLOOMINGTON
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BMI
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 210
Airport Elevation 875
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1345 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 210
Weather Observation Facility ID BMI
Elevation of weather observation facility 875
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 25000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Thin Broken
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 2350
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 11 1992 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1420
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 47062
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 2:59PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N302FW
NTSB Number CHI92FA169
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion Ground
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name MOONEY
Aircraft Model M20J
Aircraft Series Identifier M20J
Aircraft Serial Number 24-1091
Certified Max Gross Weight 2740
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 20 1991 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 185
Airframe Hours 2069
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BERNER, LOUIS A. JR.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 303 E. JACKSON
Aircraft Owner City BLOOMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 61701
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name BERNER, LOUIS A. JR.
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 303 E. JACKSON
Operator City BLOOMINGTON
Operator State IL
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 61701
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code UNK
Departure City UNKNOWN
Departure State IL
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 3
Runway Length 3720
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --